In the production of magnesium from sea water, one of the processing steps produces a 30% or higher by weight magnesium hydroxide slurry. These slurries are unstable and rapidly separate or have a paste consistency and are very difficult to pump or flow through pipes due to their high viscosity. This general technology is described in the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Third Edition, vol. 14 (1981), p. 634-635.
As noted, magnesium hydroxide slurries with a greater than about 30% weight magnesium hydroxide exhibit rapid viscosity increase and heavy settling, and are by nature extremely difficult to transport. One purpose for these materials involves feeding the slurry to boiler fuel oil prior to ignition, in order to produce a softer scale that is easier to remove from the boiler. Consequently, the formation of a softer, more compressible scale prevents damage to the boiler tubes which occurs because of differences in thermal expansion coefficients between the boiler tubes and the deposit. Also, the feedlines bringing the slurry to the furnace can often become clogged due to settling of the magnesium hydroxide during the application. Therefore, a need arises to stabilize the slurry in order to make it pumpable, and also to prevent settling and clogging of feedlines.